What Is the Definition of Preliminary Analysis?

Preliminary analysis is defined as the initial process at the start of a project that determines whether the concept is viable. It looks at economic, market, industry and social trends that influence the success of business endeavors associated with a proposed strategy. Preliminary analysis is repeated in situations where primary investigations trigger updates to plans.

Conducting a preliminary analysis of a business strategy allows the organization to see the viability of an intended goal. It creates a comprehensive idea of the enterprise objective and states how the outcome is meant to be expressed.

The next step after envisioning the endgame is to verify that it is obtainable. Preliminary analysis looks at necessary funding, environmental, social and legal factors that weigh on the ability of a business to fully execute a plan. Any snag is caught at this stage and remedied, allowing the organization to proceed with confidence that the overall vision is one that is safe to pursue.

Risk analysis and cost assessments are critical parts of the preliminary analysis phase. This gives leaders an idea of where the major concerns lie in a project. As it is impossible to rule out all problems in the project management life cycle, it is important to anticipate as many of these factors as possible with preliminary analytics.